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Sinema takes Senate oath on Constitution instead of Bible

Kyrsten Sinema
Posted at 12:18 PM, Jan 04, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-04 14:18:18-05

TUCSON, Ariz. — One of Arizona's two new senators is already shaking things up.

Democrat Kyrsten Sinema was sworn into the U.S. Senate in Washington Thursday morning, and when she took the oath of office she swore on a copy of the Constitution. Most other senators used a religious book, including Arizona Republican Martha McSally, who used a Bible.

Sinema has previously identified herself as religiously unaffiliated, and is the only member of Congress to do so, according to a Pew poll.

McSally said the Bible she used in her swearing-in ceremony was recovered from the wreckage of the USS Arizona, which sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor in World War II.